My Friend Committed Suicide, I Did Not
During Junior High I had many absolutely dire problems that were constantly on my mind. My out-of-date wardrobe continuously embarrassed me. My hair would not acquiesce to any attempted hairstyle. My parents didn't understand me, my teachers were all picking on me, and nobody really liked me for me. These beliefs were all false, of course. At the time, it never occurred to me that all my concerns and volatile emotions were "normal". I never considered that while I was going through the transition from elementary school to high school, from kid to teen, that I was creating my own world-view and that I was emotionally vulnerable to every imagined slight. There was one event, though, that made me aware of the fragile structure of my self-esteem and how much I craved the acceptance of my peers. One of my friends committed suicide.
His name was Kenny. I have long since forgotten his last name. The only class we had together was P.E. I was in the advanced classes and he wasn't. I got wonderful grades and he didn't. In fact, we didn't have much in common at all. Still, we had great fun playing tag together with some of our other friends before P.E. started and sometimes we had lunch together. He thought it was great that I was a "brain" and I thought it was cool to hang out with a "tough guy". I guess we both got a little bit of social status from our relationship.
It took about one week, but the news finally reached me and my friends that Kenny had killed himself over Easter break. I was surprised. Just before Easter break, Kenny had told me that his parents were sending him to Arizona to live with his aunt and cousins in hopes of "straightening him up". He said he was looking forward to...
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... of the issue, those with only one answer. I wanted someone with an open mind.
I found that someone in a classmate. I didn't know her well, but I had overheard her comment in the hallway one day: "I think suicide is OK if that's what they want". She and her companions had been discussing her cousin who had killed himself the year before. It seems she was the only one in her family that had taken the view that his action was an acceptable choice. I took a risk and asked her if we could talk. She agreed. We talked. We talked about Yes and we talked about No. Before we parted, she said she liked me no matter what I decided and would support my decision to my schoolmates if necessary. I'm still here because of her, because she accepted me and my thoughts on suicide with no judgments, because of her belief that suicide was OK.
I wonder if Kenny would still be here.
Kenny constantly is disappearing to his hiding spot being the couch, where he thinks magic powers will make his problems go away, another tale Byron has fed him. Byron has taken on a more loving and concerned roll to Kenny while he is sorting through his insecurities, by checking on him and sleeping on the couch next to him. In chapter 15, Kenny has a meltdown when Byron brings him to the bathroom to show him his chin hair and is reminded of his lazy eye when he looks for his mustache in the mirror. As Kenny cries through his pain, Byron reminds him of all of his real strengths. Kenny realizes from Byron that there is no “Wool Pool” and that if it wasn’t for him, Joetta would have never left the church, so he actually saved her life. He realizes just how important he is to the family.
Of?"http://www.siumed.edu/medhum/electives/HealthPolicyMedia/wk5Stock.pdf 22.11 (2003). Rpt. in Designer Babies. Ed. Clayton Farris Naff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 May 2014.
6th grade came and my friends and I were split up, and some of my friends were in the same hall as me. I was put into what the students called “the dumb hallway”, some people weren’t as smart as the other kids in a different hallway but, let’s get back on track. Begin called a “dumb kid” started a little of my depression. I didn’t do my homework unless, it was important and I didn’t do my classwork at the best of my ability. I used my phone to read a lot instead of paying attention
Darnovsky, Marcy. "CGS : The Case Against Designer Babies." CGS : Center for Genetics and
“Each year, 44,000 Americans, die due to suicide”(AFSP). Suicide is the 10th most leading cause of death in the US. To point out, suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death. People commonly view suicide as an alternate way out of misery. Some view it as weakness, but others view it as the only way out. Although there are two sides to every story, should the suicidal be frowned upon?
We are closer that humanity ever has been to being able to intentionally manipulate DNA and thereby being capable of creating organisms that can dramatically improve our lives and wellbeing as a species. However, genetic engineering has to be appropriately regulated, taking into consideration ethical issues such as human rights, the dignity of the individual, harmful consequences and issues of morality followed by them. This paper will try to expand upon various views on genetic engineering and will pay homage to my background writing engineering research papers to consider the ethics of genetic engineering-the designer baby, cloning, how it relates to ethics in engineering generally, and the responsibilities of engineers and the concerns of
The first reason I am against “Designer Babies” is due to no evaluation. According to Jonathan Van Blerkom, embryologist at the University of Colorado, the induvial who is doing this work have presented no real hardcore scientific background on the issue.
It had come to the attention of my family that I had some sort of psychological problem and something had to be done. I was always labeled as a shy and quiet kid, and like my family I had thought nothing more of my behavior. However, now it had become something more obvious. I had told my parents the kinds of problems I was having. Basically I didn't want to talk to anyone or to be anywhere near anyone I didn't know. I didn't really want to leave my house for any reason for fear that I might have to talk to someone. I was so critical and scrutinizing in relation to myself that I couldn't even enter into a conversation. Everyone seems to have a part of themselves that lends itself to thoughts of pessimism and failure, but mine was something that was in the forefront of my mind at all times. Something telling me that everything I did was a failure, and that anything I ever did would not succeed. Through discussion with my family it was decided that I should move out of my parents house to a place where I could find treatment and get a job. I was to reside with my sister Lisa, her partner Brynn, and their Saint Bernard in Greensboro.
By the time I got home, my brother had already arrived and was enthusiastically recounting the day’s events to my mom, who had obviously been crying. When he finally stopped carrying on, my mom told me to sit down and then she told me. I will never forget her exact words or even the way she said them. “Megan committed suicide today.” I stared blankly at her, I knew she had to be lying, she had to be wrong, Megan would never do that. We had been too good of friends for too long, I knew her too well. Megan was always happy, she always had a joke to tell. She had such a bright future, she was an excellent athlete and it seemed as though she succeeded in everything she tried.
would talk on a daily basis. I met him in High School when I was on the football team. Jimmy
I was very excited to make a new step in my life, college. I came with high hopes and aspirations. My hometown is not near Arizona, It is Lake Tahoe, Nevada, so going home for the weekend was simply out of the question. I had a great time for the first month, enjoying freedom. However, I was sitting in my room one night writing a paper with my roommate, and one of my friends from home called me. She said that one of our good friends from high school had just committed suicide earlier that day. I didn’t know how to react to this; I was scared, and confused. Why did he do it? Why didn’t anyone know that he was unhappy? Was he unhappy? I felt regret, thinking I should have been there for him. Once the crying commenced, my mother called me telling me that my last grandma had gone into the hospital. She had collapsed in her apartment and was rushed to the emergency center. I had no idea what to do. I felt like God was just condemning me and attacking me for some reason. I went into this deep depression and I didn’t want anyone to talk to me, if they did, I would simply start crying. I was alone, and no one knew who I was. I was too far away from home to go to my friend’s ceremony.
Using the technology of genetic manipulating designer babies might be a huge benefit for those who suffer from genetic disease and illnesses, and may save many lives. However, it also comprises of many ethical issues and makes people question whether it is morally right or not. However it may be, people who choose to have their designer babies must have their own reasons and they should be respected.
Science is creating a world where human life is no longer a beautiful miracle but a manufactured and carefully structured design, where the entirety of a person is hand picked and selected by someone else. By genetically engineering a persons life, we are altering what it means to be a human and creating an entirely different world for humanity. In a world of all designer humans, which is defined as any person whose genetics have been modified for purpose of enhancement, the word humanity will be obsolete. Today, we find that reproduction is making a rapid shift from the bedroom to the laboratory (Tuhus-Dubrow 2007). Modern science is consistently challenging what it means to be human and is making these designer babies much
During the years of 2014-2015 when I was a senior in high school, I had one of the lowest and highest points in my life that I can vividly remember. The lowest point began when I got my class rank, and I realized that it was not high enough for me to get into my dream school UT. I have always had low self-esteem but after that, it plummeted even further. However, that fall I kept hope and still applied. Around February I had found out that I was not accepted and I was shattered. During this time, it was hard for me to find motivation to do anything. All I wanted to do was sleep regardless of the time, which to me was a strong indication that something was wrong. This continued until about May when I
Suicide is one of the most common death around the world. Life is just taking away very easy by someone or yourself. We have study the causes of someone killing themselves, but our human behavior can easy change and eventually make that deciduous. The causes and effects of suicide are depression, the past meaning your life before, and feeling unloved or lonely. The effects are the people that loved you are going to be depress, never reach those goals that you set for yourself, and people that loved you will feel the guilt.